The One Thing You Don’t Want to Do

Before I go on about the topic that’s on my mind, I want it to be clear, that I’m not one to ever rant or tell the people that I work with, what I want them to do or not to do. I give suggestions, and offer my opinions to help guide them, but it’s not “My way or the highway” type of coaching at all.

There is one thing though that does strike a bit of a chord for me, and it’s is probably the only one thing that if I see it, I will say something and strongly suggest that you not do that anymore.

That one thing is making a negative gesture when a goal goes in that you felt wasn’t your fault, and letting the whole building know that. I’m talking about raising your hands in the air, shaking your head, shrugging your shoulders, and the list goes on.

The reason I felt like writing about this, was from the other night I was watching the Rangers/Hurricanes game on the tube. The OT goal that Carolina scored was an unfortunate fluke that went off the Rangers D-man, and Shesterkin’s reaction was one that made me cringe a little:) He threw his hands in the air and let go of his stick, obviously upset. Now none of us know why or what he was thinking at the moment. He could have been simply disgusted at the unluckiness of it all. But it doesn’t matter what you weren’t mad in your mind. What matters is the perception of it all. The fans see what they want to see, and will more than likely see that you are blaming the team. More importantly, your teammates might perceive the gesture as negative towards them.

I’m not trying to bash Shesterkin. He is a great young goalie, and for all I know, he could be the greatest teammate on the planet. I’m just pointing it out cause it’s something that all young goalies should be aware of.

I can speak of this from experience:) As a player I was very emotional, and I often got very mad at goals. I rarely ever was mad at a player, it was mainly towards myself or the referees:) haha. But I do remember as a pro, one of my good friends and teammate at the time, coming up to me after a game a quietly having a chat with me. He spoke to me respectfully, and let me know that most everyone knows that I care for the team and winning very deeply, but sometimes my emotions visually can be misinterpreted.

Now I’m gonna be totally honest with you, I don’t know that I ever fully conquered my emotions:) But I was always aware from that moment on, and tried very hard to work on it. I would just yell profanities at myself, then give shinpad taps to all the players and smile;)

So, in closing, I’m gonna be that guy like my friend was to me, and just let you know quietly, to be aware of this and work really hard to calm the fire within. It will help the team in the long run.

Peace,

Dusty Imoo